Watching the World
Breast-Cancer Survivors
“Women who get breast cancer in their late 40’s have the best chance of surviving the disease,” says The New York Times in a report on new studies done in Sweden and the United States. “The prospects are considerably dimmer for those in their 20’s or for the elderly,” the report claims. Research points to a lowering of natural hormonal production, which occurs after menopause, as an apparent influence in the slowing of tumor growth, although other biologic mechanisms also appear to be involved.
Ad Angers Some Catholics
“Eat free at Italian restaurants,” blares the bold-type headline over a photograph of an actor-comedian portraying a priest. The caricature of a Roman Catholic priest, who is wearing a wide-brimmed hat, clerical collar, and twirling a forkful of spaghetti, appears in a full-page advertisement in Newsweek’s college edition, Newsweek on Campus, and is part of a recruiting effort by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The satiric figure promises prospective priests such “padre perks” as “sleeping late, getting first crack at parish rummage sales, and helping your fellow man.” The order is seeking college-age students to bolster the dwindling ranks of candidates and hopes that the ad featuring the comic will help, according to an Associated Press report. Not all sincere Catholics, though, found this humorous. “What depth are we reaching that we have to use a comedy approach?” asks a vocations director at a Chicago seminary.
Unusual Patient
A group of surgeons had their hands full when they recently operated on a patient weighing 1,775 pounds (805 kg). Who was the patient? A 15-year-old beluga whale named Big Mouth, a resident of the Minnesota Zoo. For the past year and a half, the mammal had been suffering from a lingering mouth infection, and zoo authorities felt that an operation was needed to stem the spread of the infection. American Medical News notes that the surgery required the removal of a portion of jawbone about the size of a clenched fist. Dr. Frank Wright, zoo veterinarian, noted that a major concern was anesthetizing the whale. The doctors learned, however, that using Demerol and Valium ‘made him a more mellow fellow.’ Altogether, 22 quarts (21 L) of fluids were pumped into the beluga during surgery, and a team of 35 people was required to carry out the operation. After an initial setback, the patient was reported to be improving.
Fighting Drugs in Hungary
Drug abuse among the youth in Hungary has sparked the government to start a national campaign of information against drugs. An estimated 30,000 young people between 15 and 18 years of age take drugs occasionally, and from 2 to 5 percent of these are said to be addicted. According to the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, the government wants to prevent drug abuse in the country from “becoming of Western proportions.”
Aboriginal TV Station
“Australia’s first Aboriginal television channel” has been established in Alice Springs—the geographical heart of Australia. A chief aim of the station is “to save the surviving Aboriginal languages from extinction,” notes The Sydney Morning Herald. According to Eve Fesl, director of the Aboriginal Resource Centre, the endeavor is a small step in the right direction. “There are about 100 spoken Aboriginal languages, although only eight are spoken by 1,000 or more people.”
Crocodile Tower
The sight of lifeguard towers on Australian beaches is not rare. Many struggling swimmers have been saved from drowning because of quick detection from the tower and swift action from lifeguards. Countless shark warnings have also been sounded because of the sharp eyes of lifeguards on watch. But now a bathing beach in the Northern Territory boasts Australia’s first “croc tower.” Since crocodiles are protected animals in Australia, evidence of increased numbers roaming on local beaches is reported. The tower stands 34 feet (10 m) high and is manned each weekend during the swimming season.
Abortion Trend Up
The world will see more permissive abortion laws, predicts the Alan Guttmacher Institute of New York, a private organization that studies population issues. Their latest survey estimates that from 40 million to 60 million induced abortions are performed in the world each year, about 33 million of them legally. The United Nations estimated that 131 million babies were born in 1986.
Gold’s High Prices
A conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, to coincide with the centenary of the city’s gold-mining industry. W. Malan, vice president of the Chamber of Mines, told delegates that “the 40,000 tons of gold mined from the [Witwatersrand] basin accounts for 32 percent of all gold ever mined.” All this gold, however, was not obtained without price in terms of human life and suffering. According to the International Labour Organisation, 8,500 people were killed in South African mines during the 11-year period from 1973 to 1984. Many were gold miners. A grim reminder of the high price became evident when, during the conference, the worst disaster in South Africa’s gold-mining history struck Kinross mine. A fire released noxious fumes, causing the death of 117 miners that included migrant workers from the neighboring countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Earthquake Detectors
Soviet scientists believe that earthquakes can be predicted by studying the behavior of snakes, worms, and other animals, reports El Universal, a Mexican newspaper. Certain organisms are said to respond to the geomagnetic vibrations and to temperature and water-level changes that precede earth tremors. According to scientist Albert Skovitin, it may be possible to analyze animal behavior with the aid of a computer and thus accurately predict earthquakes long before they happen. For example, studies have disclosed that about one month prior to a strong earthquake, snakes will crawl out of their nests and abandon a dangerous zone. Scientists believe that the sensitivity of these animals greatly exceeds that of modern man-made earthquake detectors.
Hungry Eye
Researchers suspect a close biochemical relationship between the eye and the stomach. According to Dr. Volker Schusdziarra from the University of Munich, peptides (chemical compounds) that control digestion and arouse feelings of hunger and satiety and that are normally found in the stomach and intestine have recently been detected not only in the brain but also in the nerve cells of the retina. The German medical magazine Zeitschrift für Allgemeinmedizin reports that new variations of these substances are discovered continually. It appears that they carry messages between the sensory organs (eyes, nose, tongue, and so forth), the brain, and the digestive system.
Disappearing Storks
Storks, once a common sight in the Alsace region of northeastern France, are now disappearing from the French countryside. “The storks’ first enemy is the change in environment,” claims a member of the World Wildlife Fund. The French newspaper Le Figaro reports: “Chemical products scattered over the land make the eggshells more fragile. Also, with the draining of marshes in Europe and with fewer hedges, there has been a decrease in the wildlife that storks have always preyed upon, such as small rodents, snakes, grasshoppers, and frogs.” Moreover, as African deserts spread, these wading birds are obliged to extend their migratory flights as far as Sudan, where many of them fall victim to local hunters.